Author Archives: Rebekah Kamp

Rebekah works as the Youth Services Librarian at the Belgrade Community Library. She enjoys designing innovative programming for children and teens. When not at the library, Rebekah is an outdoor enthusiast who loves spending time with her children camping, hiking, and exploring in Montana.

Many people enjoy listening to music on their mobile devices, but this app brings the listener to the music. Songkick' Concerts helps users keep track of upcoming concerts by location and artist, organizing shows on a' concert calendar for easy reference.

Getting started is simple. After downloading the app, Songkick' browses your device's music library to identify' the artists you listen to. Using your location and music list, the app creates a list of upcoming tour dates.' You can also manually add artists or cities. Taking a trip to Boston? Add Boston and check for shows that will fit your itinerary. You can also sync your account to Facebook. This will allow you to view tour information for bands you "like" and share concerts with friends. Read More →

The new school year is quickly approaching, and the first day of school is an excellent opportunity to make a fresh' fashion' statement. This week's app, Cloth by Clothes Minded,' will help teens archive images of their favorite outfits for later reference. Feeling uninspired on a rainy' morning? Simply click on Cloth to remember some of your closet's best combinations.

After downloading the app, Cloth walks you through all the features with a simple tutorial. However, this app was easy to use even if you decide to skip the intro and go straight to the wardrobe. Click "Snap" to take a photo or load one from your phone's library. Read More →

Finals and AP exams are almost (or already!) here for many of the teens we serve. Top-rated study applications can help students organize their notes and prepare for end of the semester tests. This week's app, Flashcardlet, lets teens create, share, and use study materials anywhere.

There are several flashcard apps out there, but students that need more than text to study will appreciate Flashcardlet's features. A step beyond the traditional pen and paper flashcard, this app allows you to view images. Create your own deck or download one from Quizlet.com to study SAT vocabulary, science and math diagrams, art history, or any other subject imaginable. If you find or make a study deck that will be useful for a friend, share it by using Dropbox or email. Read More →

Too often innovative' ideas are quashed' by questions like "How will we fund that?" or "How will staff have enough time?" Inevitably, change requires a bit of sacrifice--if you are going to fund a new idea, you either have to generate more resources or take a little bit' from somewhere else.' Even with shifting dollars, there still might be only a small available budget.' This is why I love apps! Apps often help you produce something new and interesting with only a small cost.' The app I tested this week falls into the "cheap with big results" category. For only $1.99 and some patience, you can use WordFoto to generate colorful, eye-catching publicity materials. Read More →

I like to listen to public radio on my way home from work because the DJs' select from a diverse library of' tunes. I cannot tell you how often I hear a new, exciting' song but' miss the artist's name. Desperately clinging to a few lyrics, I hurry home and try to put my reference skills to use. Sometimes I find the song, but' just as often,' the song is lost forever, only a' hazy' melody in my head.' For music lovers, this week's app is truly magic: Shazam!

Press the button on Shazam, and the app will listen for a few seconds, matching tunes with a database. The screen pops up with the album cover, the artist's name, and a list of other ways to interact with the song.' Share it with a friend via Facebook or Twitter, read lyrics in time with the song, check reviews, browse related You Tube videos, and buy tracks from iTunes.' If you pay to upgrade the app, you can also add the song to Spotify and receive recommendations for similar music. Read More →

Photo journaling is a fun and powerful way to document an important occasion or even a whole year.' Inspired by the photography website Photojojo, the Project 365 app helps users capture one shot per day, organize the collection of images, and share the results with friends and family.

Photojojo describes Project 365 as a â€œbig undertaking with big payoffs.â€ They encourage photographers to take a picture a day, and their arguments are convincing: Read More →

Cost: Free to download, but requires a Netflix subscription (one month free trial and then $7.99 a month).

Barnes and Noble is shipping out the latest addition to the Nook family, a tablet that rivals the Kindle Fire and iPad. The new Nook Tablet looks enticing, but Nook Color owners not quite ready to empty their wallets for the latest device will be happy to know that Nook Color has also become more tablet-like. Over 300 apps were released this month and a massive update introduced highly desired functionality, including vivid graphic novels and streaming movies. This App of the Week post will evaluate one of the most significant upgrades, Nook Color's Netflix app.

Available as a free download, the Netflix app delivers crisp, quick-loading videos. Upon logging in with my Netflix username and password, I was greeted with a row of videos that I had started earlier in the week on my television (see picture at left). With a tap, I continued watching The Office: Season 2 right where I left off. Read More →

How many newspapers, blogs, websites, and social networking sites did you scan today before visiting the YALSA Blog? Whether it is for reference questions, professional development, or leisure purposes, the amount of information librarians consume on a daily basis can be somewhat overwhelming.' This week's app, Taptu - DJ Your News, helps combat information-overload by â€œmashing, mixing, and mergingâ€ all your social networking content, favorite websites, and news sources into a visual stream that can be browsed with the sweep of a finger.

Adding your favorite news feeds and websites is a simple task. Taptu's â€œStreamStoreâ€ features popular streams sorted visually and by topic (see the image at right). In addition to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, Taptu has hundreds of curated topics like â€œ2012 Elections,â€ â€œTwilight Breaking Dawn,â€ Read More →

Released in time for Halloween 2011, this interactive eBook brings to life the Regency-era undead of Seth Grahame-Smith's cult-classic novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.' The app includes' 400 â€œbrain eating pagesâ€ of text, graphics, interactive features, music, and animation.

PadWorx Digital Media and Quirk Productions have successfully produced a game-like reading experience that will appeal to teens.' The promotional video illustrates how the text comes to life as the reader taps through the pages.

Atmospheric music and sound effects will further draw the reader into the story, and the interactive features are a true example of the media's potential.' Dripping blood, brain splatter, and feasting undead--all excellently rendered! Moreover, the developers corrected a minor lag between page turns with version 1.0.1. Read More →

Title:Celebrity TweetsPlatform: Android (OS 1.05 and up), Nook Color, SymbianCost: $1.99 (A free version is also available for phones with Android or Symbian OS)

Have you ever wondered if you were following the real President Barack Obama, Stephen Colbert, or Lady Gaga? This simple app allows users to view and compile tweets from celebrities' official Twitter accounts. The 300+ profiles include popular names in music, movies, politics, and sports. An additional miscellaneous category features news stations, magazines, stores, and even a few authors (e.g.' Neil Gaiman). Users can view celebrities' Twitter feeds, access trending topics, search Twitter, and compile favorite profiles.

The best thing about Celebrity Tweets is that you do not need to subscribe to Twitter to view the content.' Non-tweeters can use the app to keep track of celebrity updates, gossip, and news.' No previous knowledge of Twitter is required; the straightforward menu items allow novice users to navigate and view the content with ease.' For example, a large thought bubble labeled â€œAdd to Favoritesâ€ at the bottom of each profile helps users add celebrities to a favorite list.

The simplicity of Celebrity Tweets is also its weakness.' Although finding celebrities on the provided lists is a painless process, there is no easy way to follow a person not included on the lists. I would love to add some of my favorite YA authors, but options for this type of personalization are limited. Users can access tweets mentioning unlisted celebrities by using the search feature, but it would be much more useful if subscribers could manually add other profiles.' Teens that do not follow the typical set of mainstream celebrities might be slightly disappointed.

This app will be useful for teen librarians interested in staying abreast of popular entertainment news. It will also be a good recommendation for teens that do not have Twitter accounts but still want to know the latest information about their favorite celebrities, musicians, and athletes.